A girl, a sewing machine, a journey!

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I’m constantly fascinated by the influence technology has on our everyday lives, especially when it comes to social media subcultures and connecting diverse people who have similar interests. When friends ask me how I learned to sew “on my own,” I’m always quick to remind them that I don’t believe I could have done it without the internet — and specifically, social media — by my side. Printable patterns, blog tutorials, YouTube demonstrations, Instagram inspiration and a supportive, virtual sewing community all played (and still play!) a key role in my learning to sew.

I’m similarly fascinated by internet and social media trends – the exponential growth of a great (or sometimes, a not-so-great) idea. Hashtags, memes, Throwback Thursday, the ice bucket challenge, whatever. What makes an idea catchy, and why does it stick around?

I love Winnie more than any other little pup in the universe. She’s lived with us for just over three years and she could not be more perfect. Despite her precocious ways.

While she’s grown out of many of her “sneak attack” tendencies, she still has an affinity for baskets of (dirty) laundry. For years, I’ve used one of those pop-up baskets, but one of Winnie’s favorite hobbies is tipping it over and running amok with its contents.

This is a long overdue post to talk about a project that wrapped up a loooooong time ago! Based on my blog posts alone, you may think the mustaches and elephants quilt was my very first rag quilt. But … it wasn’t. My very first rag quilt was completed months and months prior to that when I tackled the now out-of-print Simplicity 4993. I’d had this pattern on my radar for a long time so when I discovered it was recently retired, I jumped on etsy and grabbed a brand new copy.

Last Halloween, I made some bunting inspired by candy corn. For Easter, I made bunting inspired by marshmallow Peeps. I started this project months ago – the idea has been in my head for awhile. All of those little pink triangles have been sitting on my cutting table since I abandoned them sometime during the spring. I finally decided to finish up so I’d still have a chance to enjoy this summer decor!

My mom loves iced tea. Really, she is a self-proclaimed iced tea addict. I grew up hearing, “Can you pass me a pink/yellow/blue packet?” in restaurants as she requested her sweetener of choice. But of course, for those emergency-sweetener-situations, she always has some packets in her purse. When I made my mom an earbud zipper pouch (she’s as addicted to music as she is to iced tea) she mentioned that it might be a good size for her sugar packets.

I had a Barney Stinson moment: “Challenge Accepted!”

Side Note: This Barney Stinson graphic is going to be a recurring image in my blog every time I try something new. Because it’s awesome.

Okay, so making a separate zippy pouch for sugar packets wasn’t really that big of a challenge, but I knew that I could do better than the circular earbuds pouch. Here’s the thing with sewing: you don’t have to “make do.” You don’t have to say, “I guess this MIGHT work for my sugar packets.” No. You get to say, “Let’s make something that WILL work.”

After posting ten inspirational Easter tutorials last week, I wanted to actually make one of the projects I showcased. My only rule was that I had to be resourceful and only use supplies that I already had on hand. For awhile now, I’ve felt completely overwhelmed by the amount of fabric and supplies that I already have. I have to draw the line somewhere. No more!

In the past year or so, I’ve become a little bit country. Or… a lot country.

I work with a bunch of country-music lovin’ ladies who like to discuss the latest and greatest country music artists around the water cooler. I’ve had a handful of country songs on my playlists over the years, but had never listened to country exclusively. I finally programmed the local country radio station into my car’s pre-sets, just so that I’d know what these ladies were talking about from time to time… and within just a few days – I. FELL. IN. LOVE. That was at least six months ago, and I’m still going strong!

So, when I wanted to make a jewelry roll for one of my work lady-friends, of course the first theme I thought of was… country! Continue reading →

This is the first sewing pattern my mom ever picked out and made on her own – a nightgown for 6-year-old Lindsay (cue the “awwww”) with a matching nightgown for my Cabbage Patch doll.

The pattern came with a set of Cabbage Patch Kids iron-on transfers to brand the finished products – Fancy!

My mom made me the style shown in the photo on the pattern packet – although sadly, I didn’t sport Fraggle-Rock-esque pigtails like the girl in the photo.

My mom never claimed to be a seamstress extraordinaire, but she could definitely hold her own when it came to basic Halloween costumes, minor alterations and curtains for our basement windows. She made the nightgown on a vintage, hand-me-down sewing machine that only went forwards and backwards without any fancy bells and whistles.

My mom likes to claim that my sewing skills exceed hers, but I beg to differ. She made this successful WEARABLE item right off the bat, and I have yet to conquer the wearable field. Once I have that accomplishment under my belt, we’ll talk. But till then – hats off to you, mom!

Google the phrase “crayon roll” and you’ll be inundated with images, tutorials and etsy shops featuring this gem that allows kiddos to tuck crayons into little pockets, roll ’em all up and take ’em on the go. As someone who is constantly on the hunt for free sewing tutorials, it finally got to the point where I just HAD to try making one of these little guys. They’re famous in the online sewing world!

As luck would have it, my friend Brie was about to celebrate a birthday – and Brie LOVES crayons. It should be noted that Brie is an adult, but if you are an adult who does no longer finds joy in a set of brand new crayons, you’re clearly not living your life to the fullest.

So I set out to find the most ideal crayon roll tutorial and settled on The Pleated Poppy – a blog tutorial featuring super-clear instructions and stunning photos. I whipped up my first crayon roll in just an hour or so, impressing even myself – new projects never have such a quick turnaround! There were some slight mish-moshy stitching errors here and there, but overall, the project was a winner!

Notes about this project:

It uses very little fabric! I was able to use some scraps leftover from my Friendship Bag and my nook cover for Brie’s crayon roll.

The tutorial linked above uses an elastic and a button to secure the roll closed, but I opted for ribbon ties instead.

Precise measurements are crucial for both the fabric pieces and the seam allowances. If the seam allowance is too big, the crayon pockets on either end of the roll will be too small. I learned this the hard way!

Since then, I’ve felt inspired to whip up a handful of crayon rolls, assembly-line style, for all of the kiddos in my life. Messy crayon buckets be gone!

The more my fabric collection grows, the more I’m convinced that collecting fabric scraps is equivalent to collecting memories.

Tonight I was digging around looking for scraps for the first draft of a new project (yes, a new project is in the works, woo!) and found this memorable scrap. My college roommate and I used it to cover an armchair in our dorm room sophomore year. We decided to call it “The Hot Seat” and added the iron-on letters and everything. I honestly don’t know what we were thinking.

I’m embarrassed to admit that it may have even been my idea. Hey, our college town was in the middle of a cornfield and we didn’t like parties. This (and studying) was how we chose to fill our time, which I think our parents really appreciated. Anyway. Stand by while this scrap gets turned into something new and exciting -because that, my friends, is the beauty of recycling fabric. 🙂

About Me

I'm Lindsay. A midwest girl at heart, living in (and loving) Florida, learning to sew one magical project at a time. I consider myself an "advanced beginner" but I still have a lot to learn! Thanks for following along!